ISE Live & Online announces the return to activity of the sector after the success of Barcelona

Barcelona debut ISE Live & online, the past 1 and 2 June, marked the beginning, with all the health guarantees, of the first face-to-face and hybrid contest organized in Fira de Barcelona Gran Via since November 2019.

The contest ISE Live & online closed its doors on the premises of Fira de Barcelona after two successful days (1 and 2 June 2021) marked by a face-to-face exhibition, with more than fifty stands, face-to-face networking, on-site conferences and round tables, together with the parallel celebration of the program ISE Digital.

The fair has been a milestone in the revival of the industry and points the way back from live events to Barcelona, as recognized by the industry.

Mike Blackman, executive director of Integrated Systems Events, in the attached image) starred in the welcome to the contest, while reaffirming its importance "both for the AV and live events sectors and for the city itself. ISE's journey to Barcelona has taken seventeen years. therefore, the impossibility of having the premiere in a big way that we all would have wanted leaves in us a bittersweet taste”.

Still, Blackman stressed that “we are fully aware of the value of live events in building trust, deepening business relationships and boosting business. With this edition we want to send to all the cities of the world the message that it is possible to hold live events safely and successfully. In February 2022 we will be back in Barcelona in style".

Positive balance

ISE's first hybrid event combined live presence with digital content and received 1.431 Visitors the first day and 990 the second. more than 8.000 people were recorded in ISE Digital, in which they were made 120 Sessions live and generated 13.759 Views singles, 107.718 viewing minutes (1.778 hours) and 442 online chats.

In his inaugural address, jordi Puigneró, Vp. of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Proclaimed: "Today we reopen Barcelona and Catalonia to the world. This event celebrates the reactivation of fairs and congresses, paving the way for social and economic recovery".

For its part, Ada Colau, mayor of the Barcelona City Council, stated that “we send a message of reactivation", while adding that the digital and audiovisual sector "is strategic for the city, especially if we take into account the great industrial talent rooted in Barcelona. The technological sector of the city has great potential to face the coming years. We are convinced that it will be key to leave the crisis behind as quickly as possible.".

Reunions and optimism

All in-person attendees underwent a COVID-19 antigen test in advance and wore FFP2 NR masks inside the facility.. Comments, “enormously positive” among the companies that exhibited their products and solutions, as shown below, confirm the optimism with which the AV sector has received the celebration of ISE Live & Online in Barcelona:

He pointed this out. Peter Pauwels, Vp. of sales for EMEA of ship: “we have come to ISE 2021 Barcelona to reconnect with customers. We had been communicating by video for too long, and we needed to see each other live and live. The future is hybrid, I mean: there will be videoconferences, but we will have many more face-to-face meetings. Seeing our partners again is what recharges our batteries".

for Oriol Massagué, field marketing manager Panasonic, “after more than a year without events or exhibitions, we were eager and excited to see each other face to face again. Sellers, Distributors, system integrators… Everybody!".

"ISE is the nerve center of the audiovisual sector around the world, his meeting point, he said. Joan Romero, CEO of Acció Catalonia Trade & Investment-. The fact that this meeting point is now located in Barcelona will make our economy turn its attention to the sector.. Let's think that Catalonia has a high number of AV companies, some 1.100 companies with more than 26.000 employees. That's why, the location in our land of this meeting point will strengthen the sector in the future”.

Ramon Vilar, project manager Sono, said that “is a golden opportunity to relaunch the AV industry and open new business opportunities. We are a Spanish company and we have always been visitors to ISE. Having the fair at home is fantastic for us. We have met with customers and suppliers and have detected a huge interest and a great desire to revive the industry. It has been a truly positive experience for us and that is why we are so happy.”.

For its part, Luis Garrido, executive director of Alfalite, states that “it has been a pleasure to see each other's faces again with our customers, chatting and exchanging views with them and reconnecting with the sector".

Marta Fernandez, marketing director of nsign.tv explains that the best thing about the fair has been: “contact current and potential customers and check that life goes on, that the digital signage industry continues to grow and that the pandemic has helped accelerate that growth. We are all convinced that the 2022 it will be a success".

 

Waiting for ISE 2022

By valuing some of the best AV solutions of the moment, start-ups (startup) and industry opinion leaders who have participated in ISE Live & Online anticipate, at a still difficult time, what ISE awaits 2022.

"In the last year and a half, VA professionals demonstrated their willingness to stay in touch virtually while looking forward to the chance to meet again in person. The commitment of many - from exhibitors to the Fira itself, passing through the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat of Catalonia- has made it possible for us to meet physically to learn from each other, make contacts and pay tribute to the world of VA in ISE Barcelona and we will do it again the days 23 and 24 june at ISE London", Declares David Labuskes, cts, Falls, RCDD, CEO of Avixa.

Giles Sutton, today Co-CEO of Cedia, adds that “it has been fantastic to participate in the return of ISE as a hybrid contest, precisely in the week in which the World Exhibition Day is commemorated. The live event gave attendees the opportunity to get involved with the industry and get back in touch with colleagues and friends, something we've all missed in recent times”.

In this sense, “the positivity that was breathed in the fair has been the proof of the joy of visitors and exhibitors to be back -continues-. ISE Digital worked very well in parallel to the physical event, offering a platform full of content to those who could not go. That hybrid event represents a big leap toward normalcy. We look forward to returning to Barcelona in 2022".

ISE Digital

The content of ISE Digital (which included sessions broadcast from the main stage –Main stage– of Fira de Barcelona) is available on demand. Includes talks by business leaders and product news from leading brands, as well as lectures, round tables and interviews with more than 100 Speakers.

The channel will be available to all interested parties until the end of 2021 on Hyperlink in this link.

In addition, other face-to-face events are planned before the closure of ISE Live & Online at the end of 2021. The next appointment is ISE London, to be held on the days 23 and 24 June in the British capital, and in which professionals will also be able to network and reconnect with the sector, attend keynotes and roundtables on the main stage or relax in an open pub on the same premises. Registration is now open here.

Other articles on Action, Alfalite, Avixa, Barcelona City Council, ship, Cedia, Fira de Barcelona, Generalitat of Catalonia, Integrated Systems Events, ISE Barcelona, ISE Live2021, ISE2021, Panasonic, Sono